Report: 49ers ‘shopping’ Solomon Thomas ahead of NFL draft

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Solomon Thomas (94) on the sidelines during an NFL game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi's Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Santa Clara, Calif.

Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Two years after selecting Solomon Thomas with the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft, the 49ers are “shopping” the defensive lineman with four career sacks, ProFootballTalk.com reported.

The interest in trading Thomas makes sense given his lack of production and the possibility that the 49ers’ defensive line could become even more crowded after the first round of the draft Thursday night.

Barring a trade down, the 49ers are expected to select either Ohio State edge rusher Nick Bosa or Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams with the No. 2 pick. Thomas has served as both an edge rusher and tackle and his lack of a natural fit along the line partly explains the disappointing start to his career.

Last year, the 49ers began employing Thomas more along the interior and general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have indicated that’s likely his best spot. However, the 49ers also have defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, both former first-round picks, and the potential addition of Williams would eliminate even more snaps for Thomas.

On Monday, Lynch said the 49ers’ more aggressive style under first-year defensive line coach Kris Kocurek would benefit both Thomas and Armstead.

“We think that really lends to both Arik and Solomon in what they do and what they need to do to be successful.” Lynch said. “Like I said, we want to come at people in waves. Both of those guys, I think, are very good players that we’re very excited about for this season, in this kind of new tweaked style that we’re going to be implementing.”

The 49ers could have difficulty netting much in a trade for Thomas, who will earn a combined $7.3 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons and will count at least $7.6 million against the salary cap in each season. In addition, the 2019 draft is viewed as unusually deep at defensive line.

Last year, Thomas was grief-stricken following the death of his sister and best friend, Ella, who committed suicide in January 2018. In December, Thomas told The Chronicle his sister’s death weighed on him throughout his second season.

“At the beginning of the year, (football) definitely wasn’t an escape for me,” Thomas said. “I was still struggling a lot with a lot of things. As I’ve progressed this year … it’s been more of a place I can just go and be in my Zen and kind of zone out everything.”

In 2017, the 49ers selected Thomas before trading up three spots to draft inside linebacker Reuben Foster with the No. 31 pick. The 49ers released Foster in November a day after his third arrest in a 10-month span.

Eric Branch has worked at the San Francisco Chronicle since 2011 as the 49ers beat writer. Before that, he covered the 49ers for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in 2010. Since he began his career in journalism in 1997 in Logansport, Ind., he’s covered events ranging from archery tournaments to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.